Exterior shots of Lerma's Nite Club at 1602 North Zarzamora, Monday, July 26, 2010.

Photo By J. MICHAEL SHORT/FOR THE EXPRESS-NEWS

From the left, standing, Tomas De Haro and Sam Aguilar, seated, Santos and Slivia Sosa, Georgia Cortez and Beatrice De Haro at the Save Lerma's Baile fundraiser to support the restoration of Lerma's Nite Club at Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Saturday, December 15, 2012.

Guest Yolanda Ortega (from left) and conjunto leader Henry Zimmerle get together with conjunto leader Salvador "El Pavo" Garcia and singer Rita Vidaurri during the Save Lermas Baile fundraiser to support the restoration of Lermas Nite Club, at Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.

Photo By Helen L. Montoya / Conexión

Susana Segura is leading efforts to restore Lerma's Nite Club. The cherished club and dance hall was shut because of code violations in 2010. She estimates it could reopen in two years.

South Texas conjunto legends, such as Santiago Jimenez Sr., used to play for dances at Lermas Nite Club.

Photo By Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Chronicle

Another site on Preservation Texas' list is Camp Logan. Here, Louis Aulbach, vice president of the Houston Archeological Society, sits on the ruins of what it used to be a wood bridge part of the military training area Camp Logan. The camp was closed in 1919.

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Another site on Preservation Texas' list is the Hogg Bird Sanctuary. A section of Buffalo Bayou that flows trough the Hogg Bird Sanctuary is shown Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013, in Houston.

Another site on Preservation Texas' list is Old Fort Bliss: 1720 West Paisano Dr. in
El Paso, El Paso County

Photo By Guiseppe Barranco/Beaumont Enterprise

Another site on Preservation Texas' list is Pig Stand No. 41: 1955 Calder Ave. in
Beaumont, Jefferson County

Photo By Larry D. Moore/Wikimedia Commons

The Reynolds-Seaquist House in Mason, Texas, is also on Preservation Texas' list. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 20, 1974.

Built in 1942, Lerma's Nite Club on Zarzamora Street is “the oldest conjunto music venue in the country.”

Photo By San Antonio Express-News file photos

A couple dance the night away at Lerma's, which made the latest Preservation Texas list of Texas' Most Endangered Places.

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SAN ANTONIO — Lerma's Nite Club, the West Side venue that for decades was a bustling hub of conjunto music, is one of a dozen sites statewide to make Preservation Texas' 11th annual list of Texas' Most Endangered Places.

“It is the oldest conjunto music venue in the country, and that is important because conjunto is essentially American folk music,” said Susana Segura, project development coordinator for the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, which owns the building and is spearheading a $2.2 million campaign to restore it.

“This designation will help us draw attention to the urgency of the fundraising efforts to save Lerma's,” Segura said.

About $200,000 has been raised so far, she said.

“We have all our architectural plans and drawings,” Segura said. “Now we just need the city, the county and the community to get involved to raise the money to do the work.”

Built in 1942, the old cinder block structure with Art Deco features at 1612 N. Zarzamora St. is composed of five sections that operated as multiple businesses through the years, including a doughnut shop, tire shop, dry cleaners, grocery store, thrift store and meat market.

After closing in 2010, the building faced demolition due to code violations.

Segura said plans are to bring back music to the club but also to locate a small grocery there, as well as a nonprofit recording studio and “other green options.”

Founded in 1985, Preservation Texas Inc. is an advocate agency for preserving historic resources in Texas.

“The sites are cultural, architectural and historic icons that are at imminent risk of disappearing from the landscape,” Executive Director Evan R. Thompson said in a statement. “Local grassroots organizations have been working tirelessly in support of these sites. By including them on the 2014 list, we hope to rally Texans statewide to step up and save them.”